A very skinny Matthew McConaughey makes his way at Los Angeles International Airport to catch a departing flight to New Orleans. / TROV/AKM-GSI

by Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

by Ann Oldenburg, USA TODAY

New photos of Matthew McConaughey's gaunt physique are causing a furor.

The actor, 43, was snapped as he caught a flight Friday from Los Angeles to New Orleans, where his movie, The Dallas Buyers Club, began filming on Sunday.

McConaughey, who was beefcake buff for fun summer flick Magic Mike, has shed 38 pounds for his role as real-life Ron Woodruff, a 1980s AIDS patient who seeks out experimental HIV drugs to prolong his life.

In July, he told Larry King, "I should not look healthy by the time I'm doing this."

He tells Anne Thompson on her Indiewire blog today that he has been fasting and subsisting on a diet of fresh fish and a daily glass of red wine. He's down from 182 to 143 pounds. Most sources put him at 5 feet, 11 inches tall.